The Story of the New 1937 Williams Ice-O-Matic Coca-Cola Coin Dispenser

Table of Contents

1 Ice-O-Matic Features
2 Product Featured in this Story
3 Learn More About the Manufacturer and the Company Brand Featured in this Story

In August of 1937, the Williams Oil-O-Matic Heating Corporation of Bloomington, IL who normally produced Oil-O-matic oil heaters or Air-O-Matic air conditioning units, introduced a Coca-Cola coin control dispenser called the Ice-O-Matic. The new dispenser came with 3 parts: a top unit, a bottle rack, and a compressor that could be added to a standard Coca-Cola ice cooler thus updating a cooler from ice to cooler that was constantly cooling. To introduce their new coin control dispenser, the company sent out the brochure below to dealers and bottlers of Coca-Cola. The theme of the brochure was an offer that the new Coca-Cola coin dispenser could help dealers make more money as it would help them get into new territories and new outlets. As the coin dispenser was introduced in August, this company promotion suggested to put the dispenser to work in the fall or winter in hospitals, laundries, post offices, city halls, service stations, department stores, manufacturing plants, and insurance offices with 50 or more employees. The brochure specifically called out putting the new Coca-Cola dispenser in Montgomery & Ward and Sears & Roebuck department stores. The company tagline read.

“Let Williams Ice-O-Matic Coin Dispenser help. Let it work for you.”

The sales brochure came with an offer to try the Ice-O-Matic noting that once the dealer tried 1 unit in one of their locations, they would want to place more units in different locations that could never sell just one case of Coca-Cola any other way. The offer wraps up by telling dealers that the units were available and ready to ship from their factory with an enclosed picture of the factory.

Ice-O-Matic Features

When the Williams Ice-O-Matic Coca-Cola coin dispenser was introduced with the following features.

39 bottle capacity
45 bottle pre-cooling capacity
Quick and easy installation of the top unit and lifetime compressor on a standard ice cooler
Beverages stayed consistently cold below 40 degrees
Self-service operation for industrial use